Lowe’s Store Credit Card Review: A Look at the Lowe’s Advantage Card

The Lowe’s Advantage credit card can be one of the best credit cards for saving money if you’re a loyal Lowe’s shopper. With conscientious use, the card can be valuable because it provides daily discounts, financing specials and other promotional offers that can save you money at Lowe’s.

Lowe’s Credit Card Review

A Lowe’s store credit card can be the right financial tool, especially if you’re a homeowner looking to make changes to your home. There are no annual fees, but you’ll tack on unnecessary interest costs to your purchases if you carry a balance. Learn more about the features of the Lowe’s credit card so you can better decide if it’s right for you.

Lowe’s Bonuses and Discounts

Sign up for a Lowe’s Advantage card in a store, and upon approval, you’ll receive a $30 discount on your first in-store purchase. You’ll also be entitled to one of three benefits going forward:

5 percent off your daily purchases

Six months of special financing on minimum purchases of at least $299

Project financing on any project of at least $2,000, with special interest rates for 36, 60 or 84 months

Other special promotions are available from time to time. For example, the card offered a special financing promotion for appliances until Jan. 17, 2018 that gave a 1.99% APR for 36 months on appliance purchases totaling at least $998.

Lowe’s Credit Card Fees and Charges

The Lowe’s Advantage card has no annual fee, but the standard interest rate is a whopping 26.99% APR — more than double the national average credit card interest rate of 13.16 percent as of November 2017. You can avoid these charges by paying off your entire balance every month.

Lowe’s Store Credit Card Application Process

You can apply in store — to score the $30 in-store bonus for new cardholders — or you can apply online. At the start of your application, you’re asked to choose one of two card designs. Then you’re asked for the personal information needed to process your application. This includes your name and address, date of birth, Social Security number, email address and net income.

Applications are processed by Synchrony Bank, which issues the Lowe’s card. You’ll usually be approved or denied within 60 seconds, although in some cases your application might need further review. As with any credit card, the higher your credit score, the more likely you are to get approved. Once you’ve signed up for a card, you can create a Lowe’s account and manage it online via the Synchrony Bank portal.

Comparable Cards

The Lowe’s Business credit card is similar in some ways to the Lowe’s consumer credit card, but with distinct differences. The business credit card also carries no annual fee and offers a 5 percent discount on daily purchases, but it is a Lowe’s American Express card, not just a Lowe’s store card.

This means you can use the business card for purchases outside a Lowe’s store. The interest rate is also lower, ranging from 14.49 percent to 19.49 percent. Business owners should compare credit cards to determine which is more appropriate for their needs.

Lowe’s Credit Card: Advantages and Disadvantages

The Lowe’s Advantage consumer card has both advantages and disadvantages. As with any financial decision, you should evaluate your personal spending patterns and needs before deciding whether to fill out a credit card application for the Lowe’s card. If the pros of the card don’t apply to you, the cons might tip the scale away from this card:

Pros

Cons

Is a Lowe’s Advantage Credit Card Right for You?

Customer reviews are mixed on the Lowe’s Advantage card. In fact, 79 percent of the Lowe’s card reviews on Credit Karma are negative.

“One day [Synchrony] just dropped my credit limit to what my remaining balance was … A few months later they just completely close [sic] my account,” said a user using the handle “fenixflames.” On a positive note, “Synchrony gives good limits when you treat them right,” according to another user with the handle jeffreyhampton.

Whether or not the Lowe’s consumer card is worth opening depends in large part on how often you shop at Lowe’s stores and how much you spend. With no annual fee and various shopping perks, the Lowe’s card can save you some money. But a high interest rate more than negates those benefits if you don’t pay your card balance in full each month.